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CHAPTER XII. 



MR. HAMAR BASS, M.F.H., M.P. — DEATH OF MR. R. SALE — 



A GOOD OPENING DAY THREE GOOD GALLOPS — A 



DERBYSHIRE SCURRY — THE ANNUAL MEETING — DERBY- 

 SHIRE HUNTING SONG. 



1888-1889. 

 From the Burton Chronicle : — 



Dear Mr. Editor, — You asked me to write you something about Mr. Bass 

 that would contribute to the desire which is expressed by your readers at this 

 moment for information about him. In a weak and generous moment I promised, 

 and I am not going back from my word, but while shock and the sorrow are so 

 fi'esh and so keen, my mind is so chaotic, and ideas and memories are whirling 

 round and round ; so you must be satisfied with a rambling, fragmentary, gossip}' 

 contribution. Perhaps when the calm comes I can send you something more. 

 Mr. Hamar Bass's death has caused, and will cause for some time to come, a 

 great sensation. People of all grades are talking of him. With one it is, " Dear 

 old Hamar ; " with another, " Poor old Hamar ; we've lost a good friend ; " while 

 a typical farmer says, " P]h, mister, we shall miss Mr. Hamar in this country ; hey 

 was a good friend to farmers." There must be a warm side somewhere in a man 

 when so many people speak of him by his Christian name. In his constituencj' 

 all alike, supporters and opponents, will admit the loss the division has sustained. 

 Few people realize how many sides there were to Mr. Bass except his family and 

 intimate friends. Very few have the least idea of the many engagements, 

 responsibilities, and undertakings, imposed on a man of wealth, who enters into 

 politics and sport. Mr. Bass was generally regarded as a lazy man, and he once 

 said to the writer, in a fit of self-reproach, " I am one of the laziest men alive," 

 and j'^et how much he had to do and think about, and after all, how much he 

 achieved! Think of it. A member of Parliament for nearly twenty years, 

 latterly for a large county constituency, with all that it means in the way of 

 meetings, deputations, correspondence, etc. ; a master of hounds for eleven j'ears, 

 with horses to buy, hounds to be reared and walked, servants to pay, and meets 

 to be arranged to try and please every one ; a colonel of militia, after a twenty- 

 eight years' connection with the regiment ; an owner and breeder of racehorses, 

 an owner and breeder of greyhounds, with houses and servants in London, 

 Byrkley, Scotland, Newmarket, and occasional houses for Ascot, Goodwood, and 

 Doncaster. All this entailed a large correspondence and constant care, and yet 

 in a great measure he kept a grip of everything in his own hands. He had great 



